Apollyon, Book 3, The Two
by DuckonMooseEh
Summary: The company has met their final member, Slade, and has gone to the Temple. A fragile alliance exists between Slade, Raven, Beast Boy, and Tovar. Who will be lost?rnTHE GREAT MONO-TIKI-TIA COMMANDS YOU TO REVIEW! (completed)
1. Broken Trust

Disclaimer: I do not, never have, and probably never will own the Teen Titans or anything else that this book is based on, intentionally or otherwise.  
  
Robin didn't know what was going on. Raven, Beast Boy, and Tovar all seemed willing to let Slade become a part of the group. The rest of them didn't think it was wise to so easily ally themselves with him.  
He decided they must have their reasons for accepting him, and so he asked Raven when they had gone out for a walk. He had chosen then because he didn't want anyone else to know. Here there was only her, him, and the mute guards.  
"So," he started, "I notice you and Beast Boy don't seem to have a problem with Slade."  
"If you think we're going to betray you, don't worry," she said.  
"But how can you trust him Raven?"  
"We have no choice," she said.  
"Listen, Raven," he said, "I don't know what you've read in your books. I don't know what you know that the rest of us don't, but we can't just automatically trust Cyras."  
"It is true," she pressed, "When I was young, my father spoke of an evil that was gaining power. That was before I left. Now, he is the embodiment of that evil, just as we are the embodiment of good."  
"You can't be serious!" Robin yelled.  
"I am," Raven said, "My father has become the evil that we must defeat. Slade gave us this information as proof that he will not attack us until this is all over."  
He just stood there. After a moment she turned and walked back towards the inn.  
"By the way," she said to him from the door, "tell the others. I don't want any of them breaking the truce."  
  
They left later that day, this time flying. It was on a small propeller airplane flown by Tovar, who had left during the night. None of them bothered to ask how Cyras had managed to have this arranged; it was enough that it was.  
Raven and Beast Boy took seats closest to Tovar and Slade, who were sitting in the pilot and copilot's seats. The rest of them didn't speak, but Cyborg had given Raven the cold shoulder when they had gotten on the plane.  
Several hours into the flight, Raven asked Slade how much longer they would be flying.  
"We're about halfway there now," he replied, not looking back at her. Tovar signed something to him, and he started laughing. It seemed that Slade could also under stand the signs.  
Raven looked at Beast Boy, who was sleeping in the seat next to her. It was just the two of them now. Them and their greatest enemy and a mute they didn't know. The rest of them wouldn't understand why they were doing this, not for a while. Raven hoped they would as soon as possible. She didn't want to admit it, but she was actually getting lonely.  
Beast Boy yawned, turned in his sleep, and set his head on her shoulder. Hearing snickers coming from the back of the plane, she pushed Beast Boy away, only for the sake of appearances.  
  
When Beast Boy awoke several hours later, they were flying over desert in the northern end of Mexico. He was the only Titan awake. Both Tovar and Slade were silently flying the plane.  
He yawned, shook Raven awake, and pointed out into the distance. Just visible on the horizon was a mound of stone, stacked very high. From this distance, it seemed tiny.  
"That's the temple in the distance," Slade told them, hearing their movements, "We're going to land about a half mile away."  
His words had shaken the others from their sleep. They all stared silently at the temple, knowing that it held doom for two of their number. 


	2. The Runaway

The Runaway

Hey everyone whose been reading these. Sorry it's been so long since I've written, I've been busy with band and school and… stuff. Anyways, I'm back, and I've written a lot over the summer, I'll try to get it all on this weekend, probably by winter break at the latest. Please review.

Author's Note:

This chapter, like most of the others, is influenced by a personal experience. During summer break, while camping in the mountains of Montana, I got in a fight with my parents and decided to run away. Something you should know: it gets to freezing, sometimes below at night, and I had nothing on but a thin sweater when I left. I am from Las Vegas, where it was over 110 degrees that day, and typically stays over 100 degrees at night.

Anyways, my parents picked me up. If they hadn't, I probably wouldn't have survived. In fact, it is the same night, and I'm wearing 2 more sweaters, a heavy coat, and am sitting around a fire, and I'm still cold… The sun set half an hour ago.

Had I survived the night, I probably would've died of dehydration before I got half way to my destination. My point is, just stay home where you're safe.

Wednesday, July 7, 2004

They were now about 15 miles away from the temple. Everyone noticed that it was definitely much larger than they had first thought. They were shaken from their thoughts by an insistent beeping from the cockpit. Slade and Tovar both turned back to their instruments, trying to find out what was wrong.

"No," Slade murmured, "No, no, no!"

"What is it?" Raven demanded, trying to view the controls.

"The engine just died."

Tovar signed something.

"Tell me you're joking, Tovar!"

Tovar shook his head, no.

"Flight controls are down, too," Slade translated, "We're going to crash!"

The stared at him in disbelief. Meanwhile, they plane was noticeably slowing, its nose dropping as it lost thrust and lift. Robin was the first to recover.

"Is there anything we can do?" he inquired, "Are there any parachutes?"

"No- to both," Slade replied, "We're stuck up here."

"You're wrong about that," Beast Boy said grimly, standing.

They were moving too slowly to even glide now. The plane had begun to drop like a rock.

"Star, Raven, grab Cyborg and fly down," he said. They nodded and complied, "I'm gonna change into a pterodactyl and fly the rest of you down. Jump on my back."

Before they could reply, he jumped out and changed, flying alongside the dead plane. Robin jumped onto his back quickly, followed by Slade. They told him Beast Boy would be back for Tovar, and then flew to the ground where the girls and Cyborg waited.

Everyone's hearts nearly stopped when, just as Beast Boy dropped off Slade and Robin and turned for Tovar, they saw the plane smash into the temple, exploding on impact. Debris, large and small, fell for the next several minutes.

Cyborg spoke first. "This is your fault!" he yelled at Slade, "You were trying to kill us, weren't you?"

Slade couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No, it wasn't my fault," he managed to reply meekly.

"Cyborg, think about it," Robin said, "How could he have killed us without killing himself?"  
"Yeah, you're all taking his side, aren't you?" the robot growled.

"But that is not true!" Starfire yelled.

"You know what," Cyborg shouted, "He is gonna kill all of you, and I'm leaving before he gets me!"

The watched, filled with chagrin, as Cyborg turned and sprinted across the desert.

"I didn't do it," Slade muttered sadly from the back of the group.


	3. Pain Unending

Pain Unending

Well, keep expecting things to get worse for the group, and don't think you've heard the end of Cyborg. On to the story…

None of them could ever accurately describe the walk to the temple. The raw emotion of losing both Cyborg and Tovar was just too much. Slade, who barely knew Tovar and hated Cyborg, was suffering at least as much as the rest of them.

Even Raven broke down during the long walk. The tears streamed down her face. She was horrified at the loss of control, but she couldn't stand losing her friends.

Beast Boy was no help to the others. He had completely shut down. Flying over the others to watch for attacks, he was merely a shell. He watched the others, but his emotions wouldn't respond.

Raven was crying. It was the first time he had ever seen her lose control this much. She was crying even more than Starfire, stumbling often. She was at the back of the group.

Raven was crying. Starfire leaned against Robin, who was grimacing from the loss. Perhaps the reason that Raven was crying more than Starfire was the Tameranian was beyond tears.

Raven was crying. Slade walked ahead. Despite his feelings about the two that were lost, he walked with the energy of a man recently raised from the grave after a period of hundreds of years.

Raven was crying. The first conscious thought that Beast Boy had since leaving the plane was that he was paying more attention to Raven's feelings than to his own. Maybe that was a good thing. He could lead until the others were back to normal.

Down on the ground, Raven, walked behind the duo, feeling her grief take over. Thoughts careened wildly through her head. Beast Boy talking to her, Cyborg shouting. Starfire and Robin making waffles. Slade and Tovar flying the plane. Riding on Beast Boy's dolphin back after he pulled her off the boat. But most frequently, the dazzling fireball that had been their friend and plane.

It was too much; summoning her power, she raised the sand around her, burying herself several feet underground within seconds. An eagle's shriek split the air, even penetrating to Raven. She sighed, welcoming the oblivion as her lungs fought for air.

"Good bye, Beast Boy," she thought, and then she plunged into the abyss…


	4. Cyborg

Cyborg

This chapter's a bit shorter than I meant… maybe I'll add more, but I doubt it… I just wanted to show what Cyborg was going through, and I think this does it.

He couldn't believe it. How could the others trust Slade? After everything that he had done to them, and especially now with the murder of Tovar, it seemed impossible that they could trust that madman.

Cyborg shook his head sadly as he walked. So this was how the Titans would end? Him walking alone in the desert, the others murdered by their enemy…

His communicator beeped. He almost answered, then stopped and turned it off. If Slade had turned on the others, nothing the half-robot could do would help anyway; whatever was happening, they'd have to get through it on their own.

So he continued walking, planning on leaving his old life, and everything it meant, behind.

Wow, sorry about this, but I have to do homework now. I'll try to add more tomorrow if I can. The next chapter goes back to the main group, so I guess it's a good place to have a cliffhanger anyways… Please review, and y'all come back now, 'ya hear?


	5. Life After Death

Life After Death

Wow... sorry about the cliffhanger everyone... I know that everyone hates those, especially since halo 2's uh... upsetting ending. Anyways, I'm putting on another couple chapters. Thanks a lot to Raven A.Star, mew-xena, and "tiger" for the reviews.

Everything was getting sharper. It was all still blurs, but there was a noticeable change to what Raven was seeing. The last thing she remembered was visualizing Beast Boy as the air was forced from her lungs.

She was sorry about having to kill herself, of course. But at least now her grief was gone.

Now there was a bright light, surrounded by darkness.

"Weird," the goth thought, "There really is a light at the end of a tunnel…"

Everything was coming into focus faster now. Over her, she could see a person. She couldn't see any details of the figure, but she knew that someone was there to welcome her. The thought comforted her, and she gave a very slight smile.

"Oh thank God!" the person exclaimed.

"Wait a minute," she thought, "I know that voice… but from where?"

"She is alive?" a very nervous sounding girl's voice demanded.

Suddenly, everything came into focus. She was lying in a cave, and the bright light she had seen had merely been the sunlight outside. And the person who had been watching over her was Beast Boy.

"Where am I?" Raven whispered softly.

"You're in the temple. You've been out for almost a day," the green changeling whispered back. She heard movement, and suddenly Robin, Raven, and Slade were hovering over her as well.

She looked around the cave, her brain waking from its deathly slumber. She saw that the cave was man-made, and that, while all of the faces above her were marked with grief (except for Slade's, since he was wearing a mask), only Beast Boy's showed exhaustion. He must have stayed awake with her the whole time.

"What am I doing here?" she asked, closing her eyes.

"Why'd you try to bury yourself?" Slade asked. His voice bore the grief that was written all to clearly on the other's faces. It was odd that he was worried about her.

"I couldn't bear to go on," she whispered.

"Beast Boy flew down and changed into a giant mole-thing," Robin said, "and he dug you out. We thought you were dead."

Raven merely sighed sadly, realizing for the first time that her head was resting in Beast Boy's lap.

"I wish I was."

She felt Beast Boy shake underneath her.

"Well, we were pretty sure you weren't dead this morning, 'cause you hadn't started stinking yet," the young green teen said, trying to cheer her up, "at least no more than normal."

At these words, Robin glared at him, but the weak girl actually opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Thanks for saving me, BB."

Robin looked towards the entrance, listening.

"What is it?" Slade asked, also looking.

"Something's coming… and its close."

Slade and Robin quickly moved into narrow alcoves on either side of the door, Starfire floated a few feet off the ground, but not readying her powers for combat yet. Raven attempted to stand, but collapsed on top of Beast Boy.

"I got you," he whispered, picking her up and carrying her to an alcove.

"Beast Boy- " she started.

"Just stay quiet," he interrupted her as he gently set her down. He quickly turned and morphed into a bear.

At the entrance of the cave, a great figure moved in front of the sun. Beast Boy suddenly doubted their ability to defeat this new threat. It raised its hands, making an odd movement with them, and suddenly Starfire squealed, flying rapidly towards it, then closing it in a crushing embrace.

"Tovar, you are not dead!"

The others stared in disbelief as the sun set behind their deceased companion.

Well, who thought that was going to happen? Things may get better for the Titans, but keep in mind that the accident still hasn't happened yet… but it is very close. In fact, it will be within sight by the end of the next chapter…


	6. Back From the Dead

Back From The Dead

Well, sorry to anyone who thought that Cyborg and Tovar were the ones to be lost. They aren't. HA!!! Anyways, it is getting very close, and, honestly, even I get confused when I think about who the real ones who will be lost are (especially when I think about which one chooses... its a bit complicated). Anyways, I'll quit bugging you and let you read now...

"Is it really you?" Beast Boy cautiously asked, changing back into his normal form. He still kept himself in front of the alcove containing Raven, however.

At the entrance of the cave, still awkwardly hugging Starfire, the large figure nodded. Now that the sun had set, he could see that it truly was his fallen friend. Laughing, he started to run down the hall as Robin and Slade both left their hiding places to pull (or try to pull) the excited alien off of Tovar.

"Oops," he said skidding to a stop and running back to the alcove, "Sorry Raven."

She was standing, leaning against the wall of the alcove. Beast Boy decided that this was a good thing. It seemed Raven was getting her strength back.

As he walked closer, he could see that the goth was clinging to the wall, trying as hard as she could to keep from falling. She was gasping for breath, and her legs seemed about to give out.

"Are you okay Raven?" Beast Boy asked quietly.

Smiling slightly and sliding a few inches down the wall, Raven nodded, "Just a little tired."

"Here," the green changeling said, walking over and lifting her, "I'll carry you. There's no point in you exhausting yourself."

Raven sighed, "Look at how pathetic I've become. I lost control, Beast Boy, and now I can't even walk."

"Oh come on. You know you like having me carry you around."

"She actually laughed slightly at this, "You wish, you little freak. Now hurry, I want to go talk to Tovar."

Beast Boy laughed, "You're lucky I'm not the jealous type, or I might think there was something between you two." Raven looked at him, not sure if she should laugh or not.

Beast Boy carried the purple-haired girl over to the small group. Apparently he had just said how he had survived, because Slade was telling the others.

"Tovar had known that this was going to happen. It had to appear like he had died, but he jumped off just before the plane crashed."

"But why did he have to pretend to die?" Starfire asked.

Tovar signed something, and when he finished, Slade translated.

"He knew that it would cause Cyborg to leave. If he is in the cave when the accident happens, he will rescue the two will be, uh, lost here. And Cyras told us if they leave here, then we're doomed to fail."

The little group looked at each other, wondering who they would not see again. Beast Boy reflexively tightened his grip on the girl in his arms as they looked at each other. But still she just looked at him as a friend. It seemed that even Tovar didn't know, as he looked at the others.

Out of the entire company, only Cyborg saw the meteors begin shooting down from the heavens.


	7. Memories

Memories

Well, this chapter is (as you will probably guessed) based a lot off of the Nevermore episode. If you don't know which episode that is, you'll find out. Anyways, I just realized that after all that had happened, two of the characters would probably like to just sit down and talk about old things... and what better two to help advance the plot at the same time than Raven and Beast Boy? Anyways, this chapter isn't neccessary to the plot, so if you want to skip it, you can. Just realize that all the group (except Raven and Beast Boy, and obviously Cyborg) went scouting in the temple, and get back at the very end of this chapter.

The others had gone scouting deeper in the cave, leaving Beast Boy to watch over Raven. For the first hour or so, they were quiet. Finally Raven broke the silence.

"Do you remember the time you got sucked into my head? When you and Cyborg helped me fight my hate?"

After a startled silence, Beast Boy answered, "Yeah. You were pissed when you found us in there."

Raven laughed.

"Even though you were mad," he continued, "it was cool meeting your emotions."

"What'd they tell you?" she asked, raising herself into a sitting position with her back against the wall, "This might seem weird, but they refuse to tell me."

"Not much…" the green teen said, "Happy said that you really did like my jokes. Then Timid hinted at the fact that you really liked me, but thought I didn't like you."

He stopped here to watch her reaction, but she avoided his gaze.

"Well?"

"I did… and still do… like you as a friend," the young woman said, looking down at the floor.

"Just as a friend?" Beast Boy asked, his voice ripe with disappointment as he looked at the girl he loved.

She shook her head.

"I dunno… To tell the truth, you were the last thing I thought of when I was buried in the sand," she said. She had more she wanted to say, about how she had enjoyed the swim on the way to Japan, about how she had appreciated his help in convincing the other Titans to leave, but she couldn't. Her voice gave out, and she looked closed her eyes, a single tear sliding slowly down her cheek. The memories were too painful for the moment, especially since she had apparently lost her strength and power.

The silence lasted for several minutes. This gave her time to think about he current circumstances. Perhaps it was a good thing; she could tell him her feelings and learn his without worrying about losing control and having her powers blow something (maybe him, she thought with a flash of horror) up.

"If Cyborg hadn't interrupted us when we found out we liked each other," Raven asked, looking up again and deciding now was the best time to start the probably unpleasant conversation, "What do you think would've happened to us?"

"Who knows?" Maybe we'd be celebrating a 'first-date' anniversary or something…"

She looked at him, her eyes wide, as she considered what he had said. She knew that he liked her more than the others, but had considered it more of a brotherly love. Never had she thought that the boy liked her enough to consider dating… even when she had decided she maybe loved him.

Beast Boy gazed at her, and he began to bite his lip. After a moment, Raven began crawling over to him. He quickly stood and walked over to her and sat. Even after this small exertion she was panting heavily.

"What is it Rae?" he asked her, his heart leaping softly with hope.

"I heard something, and it made me nervous," she said softly, and the boy gave her an odd look, "something outside, I meant." Beast Boy nodded slowly, noticing she was shivering from the cold.

"I see," he said, reaching for her and cradling her gently to warm her up, "Well, it was probably just a coyote or something."

She nodded, and then gave a dry cough. Beast Boy grabbed a water bottle that Robin had left them and gave it to her.

"I hope Cyborg is okay," she said after she had drunk.

"We tried to call him after you buried yourself," the boy said, "but he didn't answer…"

Raven lay back gently against him, feeling him warm her and deciding that perhaps, if she ever did get full control of her powers (or if the simply stayed away for good) she would like to think about Beast Boy differently. She closed her eyes and rested, listening to the breeze outside.

Several minutes later, Robin and the others returned from their exploration of the caverns.


	8. The Cavern of Knowledge

The Cavern of Knowledge

OK, well, I'll give you one chance to guess what they found in here... Or you could just read, since you'll miss some stuff if you don't. Anyways, I wanted to point out if it seems like I really messed something up, say that in a review, and I'll check it. I wrote most of these while in Spanish class, so it is very likely that I did...

"What'd you find?" Beast Boy asked them when they were close enough to hear.

"Not much," Robin said, choosing to not mention his surprise and seeing Raven laying back like that, apparently of her own choosing, "but we think that this site has been excavated recently."

"But we did find some writing on the walls," Starfire added, "Tovar says you must read if for us, Raven."

"It's some sort of hieroglyphics… in a way," Slade elaborated.

"All right," Raven said, trying to rise. She actually pulled herself to a sitting position before she had to grab the rough walls to pull herself up. Beast Boy sighed and picked her up again.

"I can walk," she said feebly, still feeling strange about the conversation and her feelings for him. She tried to push him away, but it just caused her to fall towards him more.

"Yeah, sure you can," he said, starting down the tunnel.

She growled a reply at him, but other than that didn't think about it anymore.

After about a half hour of walking (and a five minute break so that Beast Boy could stretch his arms), they entered a large cavern. It was round, about a hundred feet across, with a dozen pillars forming a circle 15 feet in from the wall. These enormous columns glimmered dull orange and cast great shadows from the light that was put out by a lake of lava in the middle.

"Wow," Beast Boy said, almost dropping Raven as he walked to the nearest pillar. Raven nodded her head in agreement, looking around as energetically as she could.

"Yeah…" Robin said, "That was about the same as our reaction."

"The writing is on the walls, in the areas that are illuminated," Slade said, translating Tovar's signs. "He knows what you have to read."

Tovar led the little group over to a section of wall between the fifth and sixth pillars to the left. He then pointed silently to the wall and stepped back so that Raven could read.

"This is like nothing that I've ever seen before," Raven murmured, "Beast Boy, move closer."

Beast Boy grunted an agreement as he followed her instructions, stepping to a place about three feet from the wall.

The wall had about 20 lines of writing, in several different languages. Instead of having translations, with all the words from each individual language grouped together, the different languages were mixed together to make on large, multilingual passage.

There were mostly hieroglyphs, but there was also Chinese and Arabic. Beast Boy even saw English words scattered on the wall. He heard Raven gasp.

"There's more than one meaning," she said, "There're… three different passages in one."

"You mean that there're three different topics in the same passage, right?" Robin asked

"No, the words can be translated to talk about three different things. Give me a minute to read it."

The group waited quietly as she read. Once Beast Boy thought that he saw her glance up at his face, her eyes shining brightly. After a couple minutes, she told Beast Boy to turn so that she could see the others, and the crowded around. A quick glare from him and they backed up to give her some space, and she began to speak.

"According to the first meaning, the time is growing short for the two who will be lost. Apparently the 'wanderer' has already seen the cause of the accident, if this is correct," she said.

"Cyborg?" Starfire asked.

Raven nodded, and then said, "It goes on to talk about how the two must stay, but then it says something like 'but death in the caves shalt not be the end for the two'."

They looked at her, expecting more about the two but she said nothing else about it. The tone of her voice hinted that she knew more, however.

"The second meaning talks about Cyborg," the incapacitated teen continued, "It says he has to do something else that is important, but he will be safe. It also hints at the fact that he will return to the group."

She looked around the circle, seeming to shrink closer to Beast Boy and drinking in the image of her friends. After a long pause, she continued.

"From here, the remainder of the group must go west, to Africa, where they will get help."

"Is there any more specific information?" Slade asked her intently. His voice seemed to have a comprehension that the others didn't. He nodded as he met her eyes, as though she had told him something none of the others had heard. He looked up to the boy holding her as he waited for the answer.

"Unfortunately, no. One of the survivors will give the rest of you the information you will need."

She sighed and closed her eyes, and a great rumbling began, starting soft, but growing in a rapid crescendo that echoed down the tunnels until it was deafening.

"The accident has started." The Goth said as the pillars in the room began to fall, "Get out now."


	9. The Jar

The Jar

I'm back! And its time for me to give you the culmination of the prophecy of the Two… Or is it? After all, death isn't the end… lol, hope I don't confuse any of you too bad. Anyways, I've got a bit more to ramble about, and then I'll let you finish the story

Okay, most of you probably won't care, but I'll say it anyways. I thought the end of this up in church, and I had no way to do justice to what I imagined. It would take the real thing to do that (with some mood music and some dramatic camera angles) to do that. Unfortunately though, I'm an author (at least at the moment) and don't have these things.

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The small group fled from the cavern as a great rumbling echoed down the tunnel. It seemed the entire temple was shaking. Dust, and an occasional rock, fell from the ceiling, which was convulsing wildly.

As the dust swirled, images appeared in the clouds. In the midst of the chaos, Raven thought that she saw the Titans, not here, but happily sitting in the living room of the tower. But then an enormous boulder, tinted yellow by the dim light, fell through it, shattering the tranquil scene forever. Raven shuddered as she realized it had directly hit the images of herself and Beast Boy.

The rocks began falling more frequently as they got nearer to the exit. A large boulder almost crushed them, but Starfire blasted it into gravel, which rained down on them as a cruel parody of rice thrown at a wedding.

Raven could hear Beast Boy gasping for breath as he carried her to the exit, trying to dodge, or at least block, as many of the rocks as he could. She wished she were strong enough to fly, or at least to run, out of here herself. But at the moment she knew her powers, and her strength, were gone.

Then she saw something that she would never forget: she watched as a great rock broke off of the ceiling and fell towards Beast Boy. She tried to shout a warning to him, but it was lost in the noise.

As the rock connected with Beast Boy's head, Raven felt him let go of her, and she tumbled, rolling along the ground to stop 10 feet farther down the cave. The others, already fifty feet down, turned to watch their friends.

And a young, hooded girl on the other side of the planet picked up an elaborately decorated ceramic jar, saying, "She needs this now," and threw it against a wall, where it shattered. Blackness spread throughout the room, then dissipated

Raven called on all her remaining strength to pull herself to her fallen friend. Ignoring the calls of the others she finally made it to him.

He was still alive, she knew that. But as larger rocks began falling, she knew that they would never survive.

A resolve began to build within her, and she felt her powers begin to return to her. After one final look at her friends, she created a shield over herself and her little green companion, so strong and thick that it was nearly impossible to see the two inside of it.

As the temple fully collapsed, Robin got one final look at his friends, Raven gently cradling Beast Boy and reaching up with one hand, trying to protect them. He could see tears streaming down her face, and he would never forget the look of unbearable loss which shone in her eyes, gleaming like a dark ocean in a storm, ready to swallow her, and anyone else, into their depths.

She looked at him, her eyes speaking volumes, and he momentarily reached for her; he felt his hand drop, and he gave one last salute to her with his staff. She smiled sadly and nodded bravely in acknowledgement. Then she closed her eyes, turning her face to her doom; the boy she would die with lay still in her arms. He saw the shield become stronger, and could no longer see the occupants.

A deep crash and a cloud of dust rose high over the plain as the temple finally collapsed on top of the two friends.

High above, the meteor shower continued its dazzling, triumphant light show of the gods…

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Sorry to any Raven and/or Beast Boy fans. The two are my favorite characters, so it was relatively painful for me to have to do that (more so than if it was to Cyborg, for instance…). Anyways, did any of you notice the allusions in there? The first is the yellow rock going through the vision of the happy Titans (a not-so-subtly symbolism for Terra). The other is when Raven turns to "face her doom", and then it talks about Beast Boy. I'll leave it up to you to choose whether she looks at the rocks falling at them, or at Beast Boy. It depends on your interpretation. And if Mr. Winthers happens to read this: HA!!! I'm writing something that makes you analyze it!

Anyways, if you noticed any of that stuff, please review and tell me (please review anyways). I'm hoping to have the next chapter (and the end of the book) up soon. Sorry about rambling (once again), and I'll go work on the last chapter now.


	10. Their Last Day

The Choice on Their Last Day

Who guessed that Rae and BB would die? If not, I'm kinda surprised; it's pretty obvious, after all. Anyways, now that Raven has started to love (at least according to my story… which is all that matters if you're reading it right now), this happens… Do you have any idea how much that'd suck? Especially for BB… Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, this story happens just before the episode Terra… in case you don't know, that's the one where Terra gets introduced (and there's no sarcasm behind any of this).

Sorry if I seem like a bit of a dumb ss, but I'm not really. All of that is meant honestly and without intending to insult anyone…

Anyways, sorry about rambling… I'll let you get on with the story now.

_Finally its over_, Robin thought, then grimaced, _what am I thinking? Two of my friends are dead…_

The dust settled around the quartet who gazed in despair at the temple. Oddly the least emotional of the group was Tovar, the enormous mute.

Robin was the first to speak, saying, "We need to leave. We'll do a quick ceremony, and then we'll leave."

The others gazed at him, and then nodded. Tears were streaming down Starfire's face. The red dust floating gently in the air mixed with the tears, making a thick mud; it looked like she was weeping blood…

Robin spoke of both Titans, talking about their achievements and about the friendships that they had shared with the rest of the group. Starfire almost had to leave, but stayed. Tovar walked over and put his arm around her shoulders.

Slade interrupted, "But why did the girl stay? She could've escaped."

"She was… changing. I'm not sure how much, but she was learning to care about people in a way past plain friendship."

Slade sat in the dirt, comprehension dawning on his face. He looked at Tovar, who was still attempting to comfort the Tameranian girl, and said, "She wasn't the one who had to stay."

Starfire looked at him confused, as did Robin. Tovar actually gave a soft chuckle and nodded; it was the first noise he had made in their company.

"Do you remember how one person had to stay, and the other would choose to stay?" the man asked his enemies, "Raven was the one that had to stay."

"But she chose to stay, she went back to Beast Boy," Starfire said softly through the tears.

"No. She huddled closer to the boy in the cave because she knew that he would stay with her. She had read that she couldn't leave and that he would chose to stay. Couldn't you see it in her face?"

"BB couldn't have chosen. He was unconscious," Robin said.

"He chose when he started carrying Raven out. If he hadn't the rock wouldn't have hit him and he would've escaped. She didn't tell him or try to make him leave her because she knew that he never would," Slade finished sadly, "And if she had tried, all of us would've stayed back and been killed."

Tovar nodded again, and Starfire buried her face into his side, crying loudly at the loss of her friends. Fighting tears, Robin approached a large chunk of the temple and began scratching at it with one of his boomerangs. The others looked at the stone for a moment, and then followed.

As the light faded, the sun was reflected in the scratches, which simply read, "We will never forget you."

The sun set on the final day of the two friends, Raven and Beast Boy…


End file.
